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I was perplexed reading the article about Minneapolis' emergency mental health response program ("Rocky start, shaky future," July 19). The program clearly is doing good work, has been commended by health care providers and, according to the article, "has freed police officers from thousands of time-consuming calls involving complex issues of psychosis and depression." Isn't that one of the goals for reforming law enforcement?
The issue is whether this effective pilot program will become a permanent part of the city's emergency services. There are mixed messages at play. Jeremiah Ellison, chair of the City Council's Policy and Government Oversight Committee, stated, "I think that we need to be able to fully integrate this into how our city conducts safety and keeps neighbors safe" (while saying at the same time that he needed more time to consider amending the contract length). Yet the council has extended the pilot project's contract for only one year.
It also appears that the Office of Community Safety, into which the program was recently integrated, may be undermining its effectiveness; the article reports that the leadership of the crisis response team has been excluded from Office of Community Safety meetings. The office did not even respond to questions from the Star Tribune for the article.
If this program can free police from having to deal with mental health crises (which we know can end tragically) and can effectively manage these difficult situations, it should be made a permanent part of the city's emergency structure. Seems like a win-win to me.
Robin Lackner, Mendota Heights
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